The sixth and final article of Islamic belief, as detailed by a
famous prophetic Tradition,1 is belief in destiny,
its good and evil. The Arabic word for destiny, Qadar,
implies the measuring out of something or fixing a limit to it.
Thus, in a technical sense, destiny is the divine decree in its
fixing limits for existent things, or its measuring out the being of
things.2 Early Muslims would simply define destiny
as knowledge that what hits you was not going to miss you, and that
what misses you was not going to hit you.3

In our discussion of Qadar it should be noted that a true
and full understanding of the subject is reserved for the select few
who have sacrificed great amounts of time and energy for the sake of
Islam, after which Allah expands their understanding of complex
concepts like this that cannot be contained in logical formulas
alone. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is
reported to have said, “Whenever Allah desires good for His
bondsman, He gives him deep understanding of the religion and He
inspires him with righteous guidance” (reported by Tabarani).

There are many degrees and depths in understanding the concept of
Qadar. Given that different people demand different
approaches in explaining unfamiliar concepts, we shall attempt to
explain a few dimensions, including both the requisite (wajib)
tenets and some of the esoteric.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Jurdani 4 defines belief in
destiny as the conviction “that Allah Most High has ordained both
good and evil before creating creation, and that all that has been
and all that will be only exists through Allah's decree,
preordainment, and will.”115

At the same time, our apparent choice and will in matters is not
mere illusion. As such, a person may feel guilty when he performs a
wrong or evil action, but he does not feel answerable to others when
a medical affliction, for instance, strikes him. Maulana Ashraf Ali
Thanwi6 explains, “The existence of man’s
authority or option is a self-evident truth, but simultaneously it
is also clear that this attribute of his authority is created (makhluq)
and every chain of creation reaches back to its Creator. The
authority of man will be nonexistent in some matters, thereby
proving his ultimate powerlessness and helplessness. Thus, a man is
neither completely helpless nor is he completely free in power and
authority.”7 Allah's knowledge eternally
encompasses all things necessary, possible, and impossible. The crux
of the purpose of existence is our full and experiential realization
that Allah is eternally and absolutely knowing of everything and
that His Power is singularly orchestrating every event and thing,
for Allah says in the Qur’an:

[Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like
of them; the decree continues to descend among them, that you may
know that Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed
encompasses all things in (His) knowledge.] (Talaq 65:12)

Because His Knowledge, Will, and Power are absolute and
unbounded, Allah knows the results of all events and choices before
their occurrence. A human being, however, does not have access to
this knowledge, and thus he acts in accordance with a desire from
within him. Even though his ultimate choice corresponds with Allah's
eternal knowledge, he is still accountable for it.

As some Islamic theologians have explained it, “Allah has willed
that you act based on choice.”8 We are held
responsible for choosing an act but not for creating the act itself.
In other words, Allah creates the act and by our choosing it, we
“acquire” it and are thereby held responsible for it. Thus, human
actions are created by Allah but performed by us.9

The proofs for this subtle relationship are many. For instance,
an insane person, a child, and a sleeping person are not held
accountable for their actions according to Sacred Law both in this
world and the next. If a man sincerely forgets to pray or fast when
it is obligatory upon him, he is not considered sinful. Similarly,
the king Nimrod tried to burn the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be
upon him), as is detailed in a famous Qur’anic account, though Allah
willed that the fire not burn His beloved Prophet. Nevertheless,
even though he failed to execute his evil designs, Nimrod sinned for
choosing to harm Ibrahim and is therefore doomed in the next world.

A famous Islamic maxim states, “The foremost energies cannot
pierce the walls of foreordained destinies.” Whether we are removed
from worldly causes and effects or are deeply submerged in them, we
must always maintain the firm conviction that Allah’s Will, Power,
and Preordainment control all affairs. In reality, Allah is the Doer
of everything, such that causes in themselves do not carry
independent efficacy. To believe that medicine in itself cures
disease, for instance, is essentially to posit that a created thing
is acting independent of its Creator. In other words, the thing
would then be beyond the control of Allah, a belief that is little
better than attributing a partner to Him. Yes, Allah ties things
together according to a recurrent way, such that He satisfies hunger
when a person eats, yet controlling it all is His singular Will and
Power.10

We do not stop eating, however, because we believe that the food
itself is not satisfying our hunger. For one thing, Allah orders us
in the Qur’an to eat and drink of wholesome food. But even with
things that are not explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an, we must
maintain proper conduct with the reoccurring system of order that
Allah has put at our disposal. While Allah may change His recurrent
way of tying things together (in the form of miracles) for those who
are close to Him, it would be little more than rebellion against Him
and His system for a common person to completely disregard the world
in front of him.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has
explained some of the practical implications of this belief in his
saying, “If something befalls you, don’t say: If only I would have
done such and such, rather say: Allah foreordained this, and
whatever He wishes, He does; for verily the phrase ‘if only I would
have’ makes way for the work of Satan” (reported by Muslim).

In a similar vein, contemporary psychology has discovered
innumerable psychological ailments connected with one’s dwelling on
past events and past mistakes or lost opportunities. We must
constantly remind ourselves that yesterday has passed and will never
come back, and tomorrow is merely a possibility. The only real
currency we have to work with is “now.” For this reason, one of
Satan’s most effective traps is procrastination. Many people have
vowed to return to Allah and reform their ways at some future
juncture, but they left this world before they were given the
opportunity.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) asked one
of his Companions, “Shall I not guide you to words that are a
treasure from the treasures of Paradise?” He said, “Of course, O
Messenger of Allah!” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, “There is no ability or power except through Allah” (reported
by Bukhari and Muslim). The reality of these words is the crux of a
full and proper understanding of Qadar.

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11- The relevant section of
the referenced Tradition, which is reported by Muslim, appears as
follows:
He (the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him) said, “Inform me about
Iman (faith).” The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) replied, “That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His
Books, His Apostles, the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith
in destiny (Qadar), its good and its evil.” He (the angel
Gabriel) said, “You have told the truth.”

2- L. Gardet, Encyclopedia of Islam (Brill 1980),
p. 366.

3- Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Reliance of the Traveler
(Amana 1994), p. 813.

4- A traditionalist Egyptian scholar from Damiette who
lived in the last century.

5- Ibid.

6- A celebrated scholar from the Indian subcontinent who
passed away in 1946.